WhatsApp has added a new feature so users can now quickly check the contents of forwarded messages in a web search to help expose misinformation.
It is launching today in the UK and several other countries as part of a trial by the Facebook-owned platform.
The feature will add a magnifying glass icon next to forwarded messages that appear in chats, so users can tap to perform a Google search on the content they were sent to fact-check it and get more information on the topic.
“Today, we’re piloting a simple way to double-check these messages by tapping a magnifying glass button in the chat,” WhatsApp said.
“Providing a simple way to search messages that have been forwarded many times may help people find news results or other sources of information about content they have received.
“This feature works by allowing users to upload the message via their browser without WhatsApp ever seeing the message itself.”
The trial is WhatsApp’s latest attempt to stop the spread of misinformation after it introduced a limit to the number of times a message can be forwarded earlier this year.
The new web search feature would begin rolling out today on both Android and iOS for users of the latest version of WhatsApp in the UK, Ireland and the US, as well as Brazil, Italy, Mexico and Spain.
